Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has reacted to the defection of Governor Godwin Obaseki to the Peoples Democratic Party and the suspension of the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole. Saraki who welcomed Obaseki to the PDP said he ignored Oshiomhole's verbal attack because he knew “a day would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market.” The former Governor of Kwara state averred that the man who was garrulously proclaiming the end of the political career of some other people is now about to meet his waterloo. He said in a statement released on Friday, June 19; “I also thank Obaseki’s colleagues, the PDP Governors, for their role and for ensuring that while bringing him into the party, they carried along with the local chapter and refrain from just unilaterally taking decisions without the input of the leaders of the party in Edo State.“The process our Governors adopted in working with the local chapter to bring in the Governor is a better approach than the system in many of the other parties where the National Working Committee (NWC) would simply just give him a membership card. “That is why my appeal will, at this point, go to all of us, the leaders and stakeholders, who gave assurances that agreement will be honored, we need to ensure that the NWC of our party plays its own supervisory role by making sure that those agreements entered into by the Governor and the local chapter should be kept, particularly since I am very sure they are all lawful and in the interest of peace and development of the state. That is the only way to keep our integrity intact. “At this point, it will be odd if I fail to comment on the situation that led to the change of party by Governor Obaseki. While I have kept my cool and ignored all the verbal attacks directed at me by the suspended chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, I have always known that a day like this would come when his masquerade will dance naked in the market. “The truth is always constant and no matter how far falsehood travels, the truth will catch up with it one day. Oshiomhole can fool people for a long time but he cannot fool the people all the time. What is happening to him now is a moment of truth. This same man who was garrulously proclaiming the end of the political career of some other people is now about to meet his Waterloo. “He has continued to use his mouth to divide his party and I believe there is a lesson for all politicians to learn from the fate of the suspended APC chairman. No autocrat can successfully pretend to be a Democrat. The true character of a man will come out one day."